


You're Welcome, Mr. Accomplice

by SkylaDoragono



Series: Mr. Accomplice Trilogy [2]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Manipulation, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 05:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2761925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylaDoragono/pseuds/SkylaDoragono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part two of Mr. Accomplice Trilogy; this was not how Yu planned on spending his Golden Week break, but it's clear now he's into this far too deep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Welcome, Mr. Accomplice

APRIL 29 – MORNING

_"Hey… what's this about you coming back to Inaba?"_

The sound of his phone ringing was the only thing that could get any kind of emotion out of Yu Narukami anymore.  Since returning home and going back to his usual school in the city, he had become the quiet, withdrawn recluse: "that" person in "that" row that no one really paid attention to.  Not even his professors seemed to call on him much, and he was fine with that; really, he was afraid to reach out again, that any bonds he made after what he did would be tainted.  It was better to be empty anyway, so not even the feeling of his betrayal could reach him.  His parents never noticed, too busy with their own lives to pay attention to their son that had been suffering long before he made such a damning choice, and no one cared enough to reach out to him now.

When that phone went off, however…

At first his friends had called him often, trying to keep in touch despite the space between them.  That distance kept ever increasing, becoming more vast than the actual physical distance, until finally, one after the other, they slowly dropped away from him.  When that happened, only one person was left to call him; a cocky, self assured voice that was there to keep him in his place, to remind him that he had made a grievous error in judgment and he was going to continue to suffer the consequences. The arrogant jerk that would sometimes call him just so he could make his heart pound, make his palms sweat, force him to appear like everything was fine.

He still was not sure if he minded so much, despite his reaction.

"Yeah," he replied.  "I'm on my way now."

_"Hnn… shame on you for not telling me."_

"Sorry.  I didn't decide until the last minute."

It was true, at least; especially since the last call he had received had made his heart race and his stomach twist for different reasons than usual.  On the other side, he could hear a faint tapping noise, and Yu had to wonder if he was at work… sitting in the middle of the police precinct, talking to his accomplice; that sounded like the kind of thing he would do.

 _"Why?"_ he finally asked.  _"Dojima-san?"_

"He asked me too," Yu admitted.  "Though… Naoto-kun was the last one to call me about it."

There was no point in lying; he would just figure it out anyway.  His last call from the Detective Prince… she had been urgent about seeing him.  Between her and his uncle, he could not say no, especially since he had a sinking feeling he knew why Naoto Shirogane was being so insistent on his presence.  He knew she had kept up her relentless investigation, one of only a handful of people that refused to pin all the blame on Namatame, especially considering his continued insistence that he had not murdered anyone.  The thought that she may have found the real murderer…

He was met by a faint concerned noise on the other end of the line, and he could tell it was just another one of those innocent acts.

 _"Ahh… Naoto-kun has been pestering the higher ups to be let back on the case,"_ he whined.  _"Something about the murderer not being found yet.  Everyone here believes that Namatame-san did it though… she's really not making any friends carrying on like she is."_

Yu felt his blood run cold, a hollow feeling settling in his gut.  He remembered one of their conversations, where he all but said he would murder again if given the opportunity.  If Naoto continued the way she was, then…

"What are you going to do?" he asked softly.

 _"Me?"_ he asked, the picture of innocence.  _"Nothing, of course; but someone really should get her to stop before she completely loses face with the police department…"_

Yu let out a soft breath; good… he was at least giving him a chance to lead her off the real murderer's path.  That was something, right?  He should be happy about that.

Right?

"I'll see what I can do."

A faint chuckle came from the other end.  _"You're such a good friend, Yu-kun."_

He heard him hang up, but it was awhile before he could pull the phone away from his ear, staring down at the screen.  This was his responsibility… he promised he would save him, and that meant he needed to keep covering for him, no matter how much it hurt.  Still, he was not sure if what he was feeling was hurt, or a desperate need to protect him…

After a moment, Yu let out a faint noise, snapping his phone closed.

~.oOOo.~

The Dojima household felt cold, like it was trying to repel him from entering.  Yu pretended like it was nothing, following his uncle inside, but it was clear that everything was off.  It was not the same bright and inviting house as before.  Instead, everything felt washed out and empty, like the pillow on the far side of the table in the living room, in the perfect position to watch TV from.

"Nanako-chan will be happy that you're here," his uncle said as they entered, looking tired and worn down from stress.  He had recovered well from his injuries, though Yu did not miss it when he had to press a hand against his chest while they were outside, forcing himself to breathe in the fog choked air properly.  He wondered if that was because of his injuries, or if everyone was responding poorly to the unending fog that engulfed the small town.

"How is she?" he asked softly.

Dojima hesitated, reaching back to rub at his neck.  "Ah… she's improving.  She still hasn't woken up since you left, but…"

_Nanako…_

Yu forced a smile on his face.  "Well… maybe she can still hear."

Dojima laughed, but it sounded hollow.  "Yeah… maybe when she hears your voice, she'll wake right up again."

If only things were that simple.

"I've kept your room intact," his uncle continued.  "I have some leftovers from Junes if you're hungry."

Just as he was about to respond, his phone went off.  Yu wanted to stiffen, to let his heart freeze up in his chest and his breathing come short as it usually did, but he could not do that in front of his uncle.  The slightest act out of character, and Dojima would have picked up on him in an instant.  Instead, he planted a surprised expression on his face, making a show of checking the number before answering, even though he already knew who it was.

"Adachi-san?"

_"You're home, aren't you?"_

He really did not miss anything, did he?  It was a shame things had not been different; he probably would have been a fantastic detective.

"Yeah.  I just got in," he answered, forcing a friendly smile on his face.  "I'm surprised you weren't with my uncle to pick me up."

He caught Dojima mutter something that sounded distinctly like, "lazy pain in the…", but he could not be entirely sure with Adachi talking.

 _"Hnn… that anxious to see me?"_ Adachi's voice sneered at him.  _"Don't forget what we talked about."_

Yu almost froze; he could not respond to that normally, not with his uncle standing right there.  "I'll be staying in tonight, but I can see about tomorrow morning."

 _"Don't be stupid; make it in the evening,"_ he snapped at him.  Yu felt his stomach bottom out; just what did Adachi think he was going to do?

"Tomorrow then," he said, before hanging up.  Dojima raised an eyebrow at him, the curiosity plan on his face.

"What did he want?" he asked.

"Ah, just to meet up tomorrow," Yu lied smoothly.  "I'll probably be out until late."

"Need to catch up with the others too, hunh?" Dojima asked, not even suspecting that he had not spoken with his friends in weeks.  He smiled faintly, reaching over to clap Yu on the shoulder.  "We can visit Nanako the day after.  Now, let's have some of those leftovers."

The thought of food made Yu's stomach twist, but he smiled and went to help prepare dinner anyway.

~.oOOo.~ 

APRIL 30 – AFTERNOON

> MEET UP AT SCRAP YARD OUTSIDE TOWN Y/N?

Yu stared down at the answer he received from Naoto, his mind blanking for a moment.  The scrap yard outside of town was the last place he would have thought she would want to meet up.  Junes, the shopping district; those were all places they had met in the past.  Those would all have been reasonable places to meet, _safe_ places to meet.

But the scrap yard?

> Sure thing.  See you there.

He spent most of his day until then by himself.  Dojima had left early in the morning, leaving a note that he had something important to take care of at work, and that he would be visiting Nanako afterward if he wanted to join him.  Of course, as much as he would have rather spent his time at Nanako's side, he could not do that; not while Naoto was still trying to investigate the case.  If he could discourage her, at least for now, than he would stay by her side for the rest of his visit.

Night started to fall, and Yu finally left the house, making his way to the bus stop so he could ride the vehicle to the outskirts of town.  From there it was a short walk to the scrap yard, which looked more like some kind of twisted carnival, with scraps of metal reaching high up into the sky.  Yu paused at the entrance, glancing around; it looked like at one time there had been a guard on duty, but no one had bothered to look after the place for ages.  No one bothered him as he walked inside, the fog dancing around his ankles as he went.  It seemed oddly thinner here, where in town it had been near impossible to see where he was going. Perhaps it just had not reached out this far yet.

He continued on, following the path until he came to a wide open space. Naoto was standing there, her hands in the pockets of her petticoat, staring at an old broken television set that had been left to rot in the heap. She turned slightly when she heard his approach, and she did not turn all the way around until he was stopped before her.

"Senpai," she greeted him, her tone carefully neutral. "Thank you for coming out here again."

"You sounded really insistent," he replied. "What's wrong?"

Naoto paused, glancing away from him as she debated on how to say what she wanted to say, before settling on coming straight out with it:

"I know who the real murderer is."

Yu did not know how he managed to plant a surprised look on his face. In reality, terror gripped at his heart; if she had Adachi figured out… he knew how stubborn Naoto was. She would not let it go if she was certain.

"But… Namatame—"

"Senpai," she cut him off, a sharp look in her eyes. "I know you don't really believe that."

Yu fell quiet, his expression saying he was listening, but on the inside he felt empty, like something had broken him open and carved out everything about him and put the empty shell back together. What was he supposed to do…?

"In the chaos of that time, there was one detail that went overlooked," Naoto continued. "We were so preoccupied with Namatame and Nanako, that at the time no one thought to look for it, but it was right there. Do you know what that is, senpai?"

Yu shook his head, that curious look remaining on his face. What was he supposed to do… what was he supposed to do!?

"It was the letters you received," she replied. "The same letters that had you at the police station in the first place."

"Ah…" he replied, his look changing to thoughtful as he wracked his brain trying to figure out what to even say. "But, weren't those confiscated as evidence? They should have been part of the police's case."

"Yes, about that…" Naoto began, and Yu felt his blood run cold. "They were taken in by a certain individual by your own account. This same individual said something curious at the scene of the accident, when I read the names of the kidnapped victims, and noted that Morooka was not among them. 'That settles that then.' At the time, the police did not know that Morooka's case was separate from the rest."

She pause, fixing a guarded look on him. "…you have spent some time with him, senpai. Have you ever asked Detective Adachi why he made such a curious comment?"

Yu somehow managed to shake his head; he had other things on his mind at the time. They all did; the fact that Naoto could even remember that, months later, was a bit mind boggling for him.

"Adachi-san is the only man that could have done this," Naoto pressed on, despite his lack of a verbal response. "As a detective, he had access to both victims, and a way to hide the evidence of his crime. It is also possible that he was in contact with Namatame, if he did indeed call the police before he started kidnapping others. What's more, he is capable of approaching the Dojima household without drawing suspicion."

She was right… she was so right and spot on, and Yu wanted to curse Adachi out for being so sloppy when someone like Naoto was around.  What was he supposed to do?  What could he do; what options did he have?!  How was he supposed to deter her now when she had all the answers right there?

"But… it's Adachi-san," he replied, his voice shaking.  It sounded like he could not believe what she was saying at least.  "Why would someone like him do this?"

Naoto paused, her expression a mask as her hands shifted in her pockets.  She pulled one out, grasping her hat by the brim and pulling it low over her eyes, something she would do when she wanted to hide what she was feeling.  He could read her like a book; she did not like what she was going to to do next.

"There is more…" she began… before pulling her other hand out, clutching her pistol as she pointed it at Yu.  Her voice finally wavered then as she continued, "That time at Aiya, when you suddenly ran off without us… that time you first started to distance yourself from us; it coincides with when Adachi-san was absent from his duties at the Inaba precinct, without prior warning to his superiors."

Naoto looked up at him then, her gaze hard, but there were tears threatening to break through. She did not want this, but she _knew;_ she knew her worst nightmares were, in fact, reality, and she had no desire to follow through with pulling out the truth. She was anyway, despite how bitter it was, because she _had_ to.

"Senpai, can you explain your behavior?"

Yu could not feel anything; he thought for sure having his own crime exposed would make him feel dread, or at least something like fear, but he could not feel a thing.  Instead, the observant part of his mind took over, his eyes flicking around at their surroundings.  A scrap yard in the middle of nowhere… where no one would hear them if there was a scuffle; it was the kind of thing the hero detective in a crime novel would do, and he almost felt something like sadness at that.  Naoto had started regressing back to the way she was, thinking she could do the same things as the fictional characters she idolized.

What's more, she did not think he would notice one glaring detail; one obvious sign that she really did not want to follow through with confronting him, and fighting against him if she needed to.

"Your gun," he said softly.

She paused, giving him a critical look.  "What about it?"

"…it's not loaded."

Naoto had a moment for her eyes to widen in horror, before Yu was rushing toward her.  He felt completely detached as his hand planted on her face, like he was watching from the outside as he shoved her backward, toward the broken TV set.  The light from the screen danced around them as she hung there, half in the TV, with her hands struggling to get a grip on the TV frame and her legs tried to blindly kick at him. He braced his other hand on top of the TV as he held her there, his hand still on her face inside the glowing swirls of light.

"…forgive me," he murmured, before letting go.

~.oOOo.~

His phone was ringing.

He ignored it.

The voice mail picked up.

There was barely enough time for a message to be left before it started ringing again.

He lifted his head to the sky as it started to rain, but he did not bother trying to look for shelter.  He continued to sit where he was, his phone following a steady rhythm: ring, pause, ring, pause.  It was not until he heard the sound of police sirens in the distance that he finally answered the phone, pressing it to his ear.  He was mildly surprised the voice on the other side did not sound as irritated as he was expecting… or irritated at all, for that matter.

_"Where?"_

"The hill overlooking the town."

He hung up, knowing there was no need for further conversation.  Eventually he lowered his head again, letting the rain soak him through without complaint.  The minutes ticked by slowly, and it felt like forever before the rain above him finally disappeared, falling around him instead.  An intense silence followed, broken only by the sound of sirens and the squish of feet as they shifted on the wet ground beside him.

"…you're too kind for this sort of thing."

He did not bother to respond.

"I could turn you in, you know."

"You won't."

He got an amused snort in answer, along with a head shake that he did not see.  The rain continued to fall steadily around them, drowning the small town even further in the dense fog that had plagued it since late November.  They still did not speak to one another, catching faint flickers of red light in the distance: no doubt emergency crews had arrived now.  Tomorrow it would be all over the news, and he would have to put on a horrified face.

Problem was, after the screaming and crying had stopped, he was not entirely sure if he really was horrified at what he did.

Something warm and heavy fell over his shoulders, and he reached over, pulling the yellow rain jacket tighter around him.

"C'mon.  I'll take you back home."

He stood, and they just arrived at the other man's beat up clunker of a vehicle before he finally found the voice to speak again.

"…thank you, Adachi-san."

Adachi glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow, before letting out another amused snort.

"You're welcome, Mr. Accomplice."


End file.
